


Full Circle

by ThirdGenerationRockette



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Post-Series, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-24 09:02:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13807950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThirdGenerationRockette/pseuds/ThirdGenerationRockette
Summary: "I'm not sure you're supposed to have a favourite sister, but yeah," she pauses. "She's the one I'm closest to."





	1. Chapter 1

On their third date, Mackenzie cooked for him. She invited him over, told him she'd make dinner, instructed him to bring the wine and made it very clear that he wouldn't be going home until the breakfast part of the deal was also sealed. They had almost finished with dinner when he admitted he hadn't really assumed she would be much of a cook, hastily adding that he was glad to be proved wrong, laughing when she told him that assumption meant he was absolutely doing the washing up. As he washes up now, weeks later, she's reminded of that night as she pours more wine and leans back against the counter. This time she finds herself smiling at the warmth flooding through her at the sight of him looking so at home in her kitchen, before eventually shaking herself and moving into the living room, taking both their glasses with her.

"You're an only child, right?" Will asks, pouring the final drop of wine into her glass and squeezing her sock clad foot softly.

"God no." She laughs. "Far from it!"

"Really?" He looks genuinely surprised, eyebrows raised as he looks at her.

"Absolutely." She nods and finishes the wine, putting the glass on the table and leaning closer to him. "I have three sisters, and-"

"Wait..." His eyebrows climb higher still and she grins. "You have _three_ sisters?" 

"Yes," she says, grinning at him. "And a brother."

"There are five of you?" he asks.

"Yeah." She laughs again. "We're like the British Von Trapps. Four girls, one boy. My mum is the wife of a diplomat, she spent years moving from city to city, I think mostly we were just company for her. She was always having to try and settle in places where she didn't know anyone, I guess we kept her occupied."

"God, I bet you did." Will shakes his head, smiling. "So, you're-"

"Hold on." She stops him, her hand pressing on his arm. "What made you so sure I was an only child? Do I give off some weird spoiled little princess vibe?"

"No," he says quickly. "Not at all, I just...actually, I'm not sure, I guess it just seemed like you would be. I don't know, maybe because I knew you moved around so much as a kid. You're the oldest though, right?"

"Wrong again." She smiles at him, moving her hand to his knee. "I am the eldest girl though. I can give you the full breakdown, if you like? Don't worry, I won't expect you to recite names and birth dates back to me."

"Go ahead." He covers her hand with his and tangles their fingers together. "Hit me."

"Alright, but don't say you weren't warned," she says, a faint smirk on her face. "Rufus is the eldest, three and a half years older than me, and the one who got the science brain, he's a geneticist. Then there's Harriet, who's just under four years younger than I am and the only one who lives over here, in Boston."

"The others are in England?" Will asks.

"Yeah." She nods. "After Harry there's Cat, Catherine technically, who was born on Ruf's tenth birthday, much to his horror at her potential stealing of his thunder."

"Did he really think he had a hope of hanging on to any thunder once he was totally outnumbered by sisters?" Will asks.

"I think he realised later he didn't have a snowball in hell's chance, but when he was ten he was still hanging on to it a little." She smiles. "So yeah, that's Cat, and then Frankie is the youngest, she was born just before I turned ten."

"Frankie?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Francesca," Mackenzie answers. "The baby, although if you want to get along with her, you'll never call her that."

"Noted." He nods, smiling at her. "Are you close with all of them?"

"Close enough," she says, pausing to consider her answer. "I mean, as close as we can be when we're scattered all over the place and busy and really different. I'm closest to Harry, I suppose, she's the one I see most often since she's the only one not in England, she's the first one I call with most things, you know?"

"Yeah, that makes sense." He nods, looking up at her when she stands suddenly.

"I have photos," she says before disappearing in the direction of her bedroom, returning barely a minute later with a photo album in her hand that she passes to Will, open at the picture she wants to show him. "This was two years ago, I think, or maybe three...anyway, it was taken at my parents' house. It was the first time in a while we'd all made it there for Christmas."

"So..." Will stops, looking at the photo, then back at Mac, who smiles and leans in. 

"Harry, Cat, Frankie," she points to her sisters. "And of course, that's Rufus."

"Cat looks..." Will pauses and looks at the photo again. "Absolutely nothing like the rest of you."

"I know." Mac grins at him. "For years Harry used to tell her she was found under a rose bush in Hyde Park and that Mum and Dad just hadn't had the heart to tell her. Poor Cat, I think there was a brief period when she almost believed her."

"I'm not surprised," Will says. "I mean, she's _blonde_ , Mac."

"That she is," she says, amused by his reaction. "Mum was blonde though when she was young, and Cat looks a lot like one of my aunts, so she isn't a total wild card."

"Frankie, on the other hand..." Will slides a hand across Mackenzie's thigh, pulling her gently towards him.

"The spitting image of me, I know," Mac says, shifting slightly so she can lean her head against Will's shoulder. "Mini Mac, my dad used to call her."

"I'm guessing I shouldn't call her that when I meet her," Will says. "I mean, assuming I meet her at some point."

"You will." Mackenzie turns her head and places a kiss against the bare skin of his upper arm. "I want you to meet all of them."

*

“Come on, Trip, you’ve introduced him to _everyone_ but me,” Harriet says dramatically down the phone. “I’m starting to feel like you don’t want me to meet him.”

“I haven’t introduced him to _everyone_.” Mackenzie sighs at her sister. “You were away when Mum and Dad were here, and he met Cat for about about half an hour, which barely even counts at all, and he hasn't met Frankie or Ruf yet. Of course I want you to meet him, you idiot.”

“Well, I should think so, given I’m your favourite sister and you’ve clearly totally fallen head over heels in love with this guy.” Harriet pauses, waiting for the denial that Mac has no intention of issuing. “Holy shit, you fucking do love him, don’t you?”

“Jesus Harry, yes!” Mackenzie replies. “I do, okay? So yeah, I want you to meet him, so it would be nice if you could spare an hour out of your busy schedule to meet your sister for drinks.”

“Alright, calm the fuck down, I didn’t say I _wasn’t_ going to meet you,” Harriet says and Mackenzie knows she’s smirking. “Tell me where and when and I’ll see you guys there.”

“Okay.” Mackenzie pauses. “And…Harry?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Once again a dramatic sigh comes down the line. “Don’t embarrass you, don't ask him what his intentions are, don’t ask about your sex life in front of him, don’t-"

“Pretty much.” Mackenzie stops her, smiling. “If you’re curious though…it’s the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“I guess that explains why you're in love with him." Harriet snorts down the phone. 

"Or maybe it's so good _because_ I'm in love with him," Mackenzie says, smiling.

"God, Trip, you're so sentimental," Harriet says, laughing again. “Seriously though, you deserve to be with a good guy, especially after Brian. Fucking asshole. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks,” Mackenzie says, pausing. “So we’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” 

“Sure,” her sister replies. “See you tomorrow.”

*

"So...you know we were going to go out to dinner tomorrow night?" Mackenzie bites her lip as he looks up at her, his eyebrows raised.

"I do know that," he says, looking expectantly at her.

"Well." She pauses as she puts her phone down on the coffee table and turns to him, her legs curled underneath her. "My sister is in town and I wondered how you'd feel about meeting her? Just for drinks, she has some function or other later, but I thought maybe we could see her before we go to dinner."

"You want to narrow it down for me?" He tilts his head and she see him running through the list of McHale offspring in his mind. "You have like, a hundred sisters."

"Three, Billy." She prods his leg playfully. "I have three sisters. Like Chekhov, easy to remember. I know it was brief but you've _met_ one of them, do you even have any recollection of that?"

"Catherine, yeah," he says, looking immeasurably proud of himself. "Blonde, looks nothing like the rest of you...I mean seriously, Mac, nothing." 

"I know." She shrugs, "but no, not Cat."

"Meaning it's...one of the other two?" he asks, grabbing her hand and squeezing as she's about to test him on names. "I'm kidding, I know their names...Harriet and Francesca."

"Well done," she murmurs. "You might just be getting laid tonight." 

"Score." He laughs. "So, who's in town then?"

"Well, given that I only have one sister who lives in this country..." She stops as his hand moves to her thigh.

"Harriet," he says. "Your favourite sister."

"I'm not sure you're supposed to have a favourite sister, but yeah." She pauses. "She's the one I'm closest to."

"Favourite or not," he answers, sliding his hand higher. "I'd love to meet her."

*

“Harriet’s the one who has the weird nickname for you, right?” Will asks as they lie in bed later, Mackenzie stroking a finger slowly down his chest.

“Harry has weird nicknames for everyone, she’ll be really annoyed she can’t shorten yours.” She nods, smiling at him. “But yeah, she calls me Trip, as in Triple M. Mackenzie Morgan McHale. Always has.”

“You’re all nuts, aren’t you?” he asks, smiling back at her.

“Hey!” She rolls over and slides herself on top of him, resting her head on her hands to look up into his eyes. “You’re not worried about meeting her, are you?”

“I do get the sense she’s your most terrifying sister.” He shrugs and gazes down at her. "So, you know, I feel like it's a rational fear..."

“She’s going to love you.” She leans forward just enough to kiss him gently.

“When she gets past wondering what the fuck her gorgeous sister is doing with this old guy,” he says, smiling as her breath tickles his cheek.

“She’s twenty six, she thinks everyone’s old.” She laughs. “Me included, and there's not even four years between us.”

"That's what I'm saying," he says, stopping when she puts a finger to his lips.

"You're not old, you're just older than me, and my sisters will love you because it's obvious that I do," she says, smiling at him. "That's all they care about, that I'm happy. And I am happy, Billy, you know that."

"Yeah." He smiles back at her. "I know."

*

They're sitting at a small table in the corner of the bar and have just started on their drinks when Mackenzie sees her sister walk through the door. She's wearing a dark red dress and black heels, her long, dark hair piled up on top of her head, and she squeals and waves as she spots Mackenzie. Pulling her sister into a tight hug, Mackenzie holds on for a few long seconds before stepping back and looking at her, smiling.

"Damn Harry, you look amazing." She grins, gesturing at the dress.

"I know, right?" Harriet replies, grinning back and look at where Will has stood up and is standing just behind Mackenzie. "So, this is Will?"

"Yeah." Turning around, Mackenzie squeezes his arm. "Will, this is Harriet. Harriet, Will."

"Good to meet you, Harriet." Will smiles and holds out his hand which she takes and shakes firmly as she smiles back at him.

"Harry, please," she says, shaking her head with a slight grimace. "Harriet makes me feel like a ten year old in some fucking Enid Blyton book."

"This is the part where she's going to tell you she most definitely isn't British, she's American," Mackenzie says, rolling her eyes faintly at her sister. "In case the world's most American accent hadn't already given it away."

"Yeah, about that..." Will says, looking first at Mackenzie and then at her sister.

"This is always my favourite part whenever we introduce each other to someone new." Harriet snorts. "The total confusion followed by the inevitable 'but like, she's so English and you're so American, I just don't get it'."

"I feel like I should have gotten it," Will says, squeezing Mackenzie's hand as they sit back down. "I mean, I know you came back over here when you were in your early twenties, but I guess I hadn't quite thought about how that would play out in terms of accents."

"Well, it makes for some fun introductions." Harriet grins. "Anyway, it's good to meet you, finally. You look younger than you do on TV, if that isn't an insult."

"Thanks," Will says, shrugging and reaching for his glass. "I have no real idea if it's an insult or not, actually."

"Wasn't meant to be." Harriet picks up the glass of wine that they had waiting for her on the table, taking a sip and turning to Mackenzie. "You look good, Trip, like real good. Being happy suits you, I think."

"Being happy suits everyone, surely?" Mackenzie smiles at her sister.

"All I'm saying, sis, is that for a long time I'd forgotten what you looked like when you smiled," Harriet says, pausing to take another large gulp from her glass. "You're pretty cute, who the fuck knew?"

"Shut it." Mackenzie narrows her eyes but there's humour in her tone and she hears Will's soft laugh beside her.

Harriet engages Will in a conversation about his time with Bush 41, and Mackenzie sits and listens, not feeling the need to participate, happy enough to simply enjoy seeing her sister and Will getting along. Not that she thought they wouldn't, but Harriet is hard to predict sometimes (it's the reason they clash sometimes as much as it's the reason they're so close, because they're alike in that way) and Mac really wasn't sure what she would make of Will. When their glasses are empty, Harriet says she has time for another, so Will heads to the bar and Mackenzie isn't at all surprised when her sister turns to her, smirking.

"Go on, out with it." Mackenzie sighs, looking at her sister.

"With what?" Harriet asks, eyebrow quirked. "I was just going to say that, even though he's like twenty years too old-"

"Harry, he's twelve years older than me which means he's sixteen years older than you. You're talking about him like he's about seventy," Mackenzie says, but she's smiling because she knows it's just her sister's way of teasing.

"Yeah, whatever." Harriet sighs. "I was going to say that he seems cool, and he clearly adores you. When he wasn't talking to me, he was gazing at you like you're the Elgin fucking Marbles."

"Interesting analogy," Mackenzie says, laughing. "You like him though?"

“God, you really do have your pants in a knot about this, don’t you?” Harriet asks, reaching over and squeezing her sister’s hand. “Chill the hell out, Trip. I like him, he’s cool. I can see why you’re smitten, and you guys are cute together.”

“Cute?” Mackenzie raises an eyebrow.

“Alright, maybe cute isn’t the right word...” Harriet pauses. “You look good together, I guess is what I mean, like you fit, you know?”

“I can’t help worrying sometimes that it’s all going to fall down,” Mackenzie says, biting her lip. “I know that’s fucked up, but I have this weird worry that one day he’s going to wake up and realise I’m just not good enough for him, and then-"

"Stop it.” Harriet glances up to confirm Will is still at the bar before she continues, her voice low but firm. “That’s bullshit. Complete bullshit, and if I could get my hands on Brian fucking Brenner I’d kill him because he’s the one who made you think like that. You’re gorgeous, you idiot, and Will should be hanging on to you for dear life. The only person who can make this fall down is you, Trip, so just… _don’t_ , okay?”

“Okay,” Mackenzie says, smiling faintly at her sister’s insistent tone.

“Say this like you mean it.” Harriet isn’t quite finished yet. “'I’m gorgeous and he’s lucky to have me’. Say it.”

“Harry…” Mackenzie protests weakly but caves at the determined expression on her sister’s face. “Alright, alright. I’m gorgeous and he’s lucky to have me.”

“Don’t ever forget it,” Harriet says.

“I just wish I could take back those few months, when I…you know.” Mackenzie stops, shaking her head. “I just, I mean, what was I thinking?”

“Jesus, you need to stop beating yourself up over that.” Harriet cuts her off. “It was ages ago, the two of you weren’t serious then, and you sure as shit didn’t have hearts in your fucking eyes when you talked about him like you do now.“

“Do you think I should tell him?” Mackenzie asks, frowning slightly at her sister across the table. “I mean, things are serious, I've never felt like this about anyone else, so maybe I should just front up and tell him it was a long time ago and it didn’t mean a thing, and I don’t know why I-“

“Absolutely fucking not!” Harriet exclaims. “Don’t even think about it, Trip, I’m serious. And he’s on his way back from the bar so you need to quit this shit right now.”

Will puts their drinks on the table and sits back down, smiling at Mac. "Everything okay?"

"Perfect." She nods, smiling back at him.

*

It’s late on a Thursday night when Harriet gets the call from Mackenzie, and it takes her a few minutes just to establish through her sister’s sobs that nobody has died, and that she isn’t in any imminent danger. Not physically, in any case.

“I’ve fucked everything up, Harry.” Mackenzie manages, her voice once again overwhelmed by her sobbing. “Everything, it’s all ruined, it's over.”

“Where are you, Trip?” Harriet asks, calmly. “Are you at your place?”

“Yes,” Mackenzie says before she starts to cry again. “What am I going to do? I don’t know what to do. He wouldn’t let me back in, and he won’t pick up the phone, and I need to make him listen, I need to see him, to explain, I…”

Harriet has never heard her like this, she's heard her sister angry, she's heard her upset but nothing like this, nothing that resembles the complete devastation she hears as she weeps uncontrollably down the phone. She knows it’s Will she’s talking about, and she also suspects she knows what may have happened.

“Can you calm down a little and tell me what happened?” Harriet asks, worried at the state her sister is in, and that she’s alone, and needing to assess if she should just get in a car and head to DC tonight.

"He asked me to move in, and I said yes, of course. I mean, I'm practically living there anyway but I think this was kind of the next formal step before we..." Mackenzie pauses and Harriet can hear her trying to gain control so she says nothing. "Anyway, I thought I should tell him, about Brian, I thought if we were going to live together, maybe get married, then we should start off, you know..."

"Oh, Trip," Harriet says as Mackenzie confirms exactly what she suspected, that her honest and ethical sister simply couldn't start a life with Will under what she saw as a cloud of dishonesty. "You told him it was a long time ago, right? Back when you guys were first dating?"

"I tried," Mackenzie says, another sob breaking through her attempted calm. "I was trying, but he was so upset, so angry, that he wouldn't...I've ruined it all, Harry."

"Do you want me to come down there?" Harriet asks, not waiting for a response. "Listen, I'm coming down, I'll rent a car, it's almost midnight so traffic shouldn't be too much of a bitch, I can probably be there by-"

"No." Mackenzie stops her, her voice shaky but her crying seemingly under control for the moment. "Don't, really, please. I'm just going to...I'm going to go to bed and then I'll go and see him first thing in the morning. When he's had some time, maybe he'll listen, maybe...Harry, what if he doesn't? What if he can't forgive me?"

"He loves you, Trip, he _really_ loves you, I could see that written all over his face from the first time I met him." Harriet pauses as she hears Mackenzie start to cry again. "He's not going to want to lose you, and you're right, when he's had some time to calm down you'll be able to explain how long ago it was and you'll be okay. He knows you love him, you guys will work this out...I know this is going to sound fucking insane, but if you're going over there in the morning try and get at least a little sleep tonight, okay?"

"I'll try," Mackenzie says quietly.

"Listen," Harriet says, pausing. "I'm going to call you tomorrow afternoon and if you need me to, if you want me to, I can come down and spend the weekend, okay?"

"Okay," Mackenzie answers, sniffing slightly. "Thanks."

"Get some sleep," Harriet says, firmly. "Take a fucking pill if you need to, just try and get some rest."

"Yeah," Mackenzie replies. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"It'll be okay, I'm sure of it." Harriet pauses, relieved to hear no more sobs down the line. "I love you."

"I hope so." Mackenzie's voice is small but there's something that sounds like determination trying to break through and it makes Harriet smile slightly. "I love you too."

*

Mackenzie doesn’t speak to Harriet on Friday. She doesn’t speak to anyone, unless sending an email to her senior producer telling him she isn’t feeling well counts, which she suspects probably doesn’t. She doesn’t sleep at all, and at 6.45 in the morning she is walking into Will’s building, asking the doorman to please buzz her up, taking it as a good sign that he does so without question. Maybe Will has calmed down, maybe he’s hoping she’ll show up this morning and he’ll make coffee and let her talk.

Her hopes are dashed instantly when he opens the door. He’s not angry like he was the night before, and she doesn’t feel the hurt bursting from him like an electric current, but she feels her heart sink because this feels even worse; he’s cold, distant and she has the immediate feeling that she can’t fix this, no matter what.

“I haven’t packed up any of your things,” he says, the door opening no wider than it needs to for him to simply lean against the frame and stare at her. “I’ll do it and send them on. Assuming you’re staying in DC. If not, let HR have a forwarding address and I’ll-“

“Will, please.” Her voice cracks and he looks away, giving her a tiny glimmer of hope that if she can just make him look at her, he will see how sorry she is. “ _Please_ , can we at least talk? I know you’re angry and hurt, and I’m sorry, I’m so, _so_ sorry, I-“

“Save it, Mac.” He cuts her off, his tone so cold and abrupt that it sends a shiver down her spine. “Look, I get it, clearly I wasn’t enough for you, or maybe screwing around is just how you get your kicks, I don’t know, but I actually don’t care anymore. It doesn't matter, we're done, it’s over.”

“You _were_ enough for me, you _are_ enough for me, Billy.” She hears the desperation in her voice and feels panic rise up into her chest. “I love you, so much, please let me explain, I-"

“I don’t see what the fuck there is to explain,” he says, and she can hear the anger creeping back into his voice. “You were sleeping with Brenner while you were claiming to be in love with me, it’s that simple, right?”

“No!” She reaches for him, instinctively she thinks, but he flinches so she pulls her hand back. “I wasn’t, that’s not how it was, I-“

“Don’t think turning on the fucking tears is going to change anything, Mackenzie,” he says, pausing for only a second before he continues, ignoring the tears now streaming down her cheeks. “I think the best thing is if you stay away from work for now, we’ll have someone sub for you while you figure out a new contract somewhere else.”

“Will, no,” she says, angrily swiping the tears from her face. “Come on, we’re good together, at work and at home, you know we are, we-“

“Yeah, we were good together, but you can’t seriously think we can work together now?” He looks at her, incredulous and sighs. “I’m not unreasonable, Mac, I'll make sure you get paid.”

“You think what I’m worried about right now is the money?” she asks, running her hand through her hair and closing her eyes for a few seconds before opening them and looking into his. “Billy, please."

“Like I said, I’m not unreasonable," he says. "You’ll get a recommendation from me if you need it, making it clear you’re the best EP in broadcast news.”

“I can still be your EP, I _can_.” A sob creeps into her voice and she knows she’s begging him now, but she has nothing to lose anymore. “It’ll work, we’ll make it work, it’ll be okay. We can-“

“It would never work.” He shakes his head. “You’re the best EP I’ve ever had, and I doubt that’ll change, but-“

“Then why won’t it work?” She reaches out again and this time he lets her hand rest on his arm for a few seconds before he deliberately lifts it off and takes a step back.

“Oh I don’t know, Mac.” He raises his voice, his tone biting. “Maybe because you said you loved me but you were sleeping with someone else the whole damn time!”

“ _Not_ the whole time.” She shouts, her desperation taking over. “It wasn’t like that, it was a stupid mistake, a few times, and it was way back when we first started dating, and before I fell in love with you, but as soon as I did, I-“

“Okay.” He holds his hands up. “I don’t need to hear any more. You were keeping your options open, I get that, and hey, lucky me, I was the winning bidder. Well no, fuck you, Mackenzie. It’s over, I’ll pack up your things, you need to leave now.”

"I wasn't keeping my options open," she says, the words tumbling desperately off her tongue. "You can't think that. I love you, I don't want anyone else, not ever. I just want you. Please, Will. Please."

"Alright, we're done here, Mackenzie." He steps back and she covers her mouth to try and stifle a sob. "I'll send your stuff on."

He takes one final step back and closes the door, leaving her standing in the hallway, trying to process that he's gone, he's closed the door on her, that she has ruined the best thing she ever had. Sliding down the wall, she puts her head in her hands and cries, thinking about him in the apartment they were about to share, only now instead of her moving the rest of her things in, he's throwing what's hers into a box ready to send on and put her out of his mind for good.

Reaching into her bag, she pulls out a pen and tears a page from a small notebook she always has with her.

_Billy, I don't know what else to say...I'm sorry, more sorry than you can imagine. It was a long time ago, it was stupid, really fucking stupid, and the moment I realised I was in love with you, I never saw him again. I know you won't believe me but I swear on my life it's true. I never wanted to hurt you, and I'm so sorry. I love you, I'll always love you. Please forgive me- M, x_

Standing, she folds the note in half, writes his name on it and slides it under the door before she heads for the elevator.


	2. Chapter 2

Cat is the first one who spots Harriet waiting as they come through the arrivals gate, and she waves to catch her attention, Frankie doing the same as Harriet waves back.

"You didn't check any luggage?" Harriet asks as she hugs each of them in turn.

"No," Cat says, sighing slightly. "We're the two McHale girls who _don't_ have two bloody passports, remember? We thought we'd be waiting long enough to get through immigration without having to wait for luggage too."

"Makes sense." Harriet nods. "Let's get out of here then."

"Has she spoken to you at all, Harry?" Frankie asks as they wait in traffic to get out of the airport.

"Thursday night," Harriet answers, glancing in the mirror at her youngest sister in the back seat. "She called Thursday night to tell me they'd had a fight and she thought it was all over, but that she was heading over there Friday morning to try and talk to him. I called her Friday afternoon but she didn't pick up, and-"

"Have you tried to call her since?" Frankie asks, quietly.

"Well, fuck, no, I hadn't thought of that." Harriet snaps before taking a breath. "Sorry, I'm just...worried about her, and fucking furious with him."

"I know, it's okay, I'm worried too," Frankie says, frowning at her sister in the mirror. "And I have to say, I can't quite understand what might have happened. I spoke to her a couple of weeks ago and she sounded happier than ever, it seemed like things were going really well. Do you know what happened?"

"Yeah, kind of." Harriet sighs and glances at Cat in the front seat beside her. "How much do you know?"

"For crying out loud, Harry, can we stop pissing around here?" Cat rubs her hand across her forehead. "What the hell happened?"

"Alright." Harriet pauses to get straight in her head what she's about to say. "On Thursday night, Will asked her to move in with him, and she said yes. But because she's an honest, ethical, sweet fucking fool she thought that before they moved in together she should tell him about-"

"About Brian." Cat finishes, sighing. "Right? She told him she'd been seeing Brian?" 

"Yeah." Harriet nods. "She thought she-"

"Wait..." Frankie leans forward into the space between the seats and looks at her sisters. "She was cheating on Will? With _Brian_? No way, I don't believe it. She adores Will, and Brian was...well, she wouldn't do that, I just don't-"

"Calm down, Frankie, she wasn't." Harriet cuts in and turns to her, as the car comes to yet another stop. "Look, when she first started dating Will, before it was anything more than that, there was a brief period when she starting seeing Brian again. You know how Brian was, and I guess he called and played his usual line of bullshit...anyway, we're talking two years ago here, and when she realised the thing with Will was turning into something more and she was falling for him, she ended it with Brian and she hasn't seen him since."

"But she thought telling Will would be the best thing, because she didn't want to go into something permanent with him feeling as though there were secrets between them," Frankie says, her expression turning sad. "Oh, poor Mackie, she thought she was doing the right thing. He took it terribly badly, I assume?"

"Yeah, and fucking then some." Harriet bangs her hand triumphantly on the steering wheel as they finally make it out onto the road. "She was in a hell of a mess when she called so I couldn't get a whole lot out of her, but he wouldn't listen to her explanation, just told her to get out, said he never wanted to see her again."

"Has she been going to work, do you know?" Cat asks, frowning.

"No," Harriet answers. "I called yesterday and asked to talk to her and the guy I spoke to said she was out sick, had been since Friday. That's when I called you guys, because I figured we needed to intervene. She won't pick up the phone, I sent an email saying I totally get it if she doesn't want to talk but to just let me know she's okay, but I've gotten nothing."

"Dammit." Frankie leans back and closes her eyes briefly before looking back up at Harriet in the mirror.

"She'll be okay, Frankie," Harriet says, seeing the worry in her youngest sister's eyes. "She's had five days to lie in bed and now it's time she let us drag her out. She either needs to absolutely refuse to move off of his doorstep until they work things out, or she needs to accept it's done and move the fuck on."

"Jesus Harry, it's been five days, not five months," Cat says, turning to her. "We can't just storm in there like the charge of the bloody light brigade and demand she snap out of it."

"I know that," Harriet replies, her hands gripping the wheel a little tighter. "But you know how she gets, Cat, you know the longer she refuses to get up, the more she...well, it's not fucking good for her to be left to just sink deeper into her misery, and we're her sisters, we need to be there for her."

"Harry, nobody is disagreeing with that." Frankie speaks up again. "Two of us just flew in from London, in case you failed to notice, so we're completely on board with this. I just think we should see how she is before we start dragging her out of bed by the hair and hurling her under a cold shower, or whatever your plan is."

"I hadn't thought of that, but it's actually not a bad idea at all," Harriet says with a faint smile. "I'm kidding, obviously."

"Alright, so we go in gently and see how she is, right?" Cat asks, leaning her head against the window.

"Well, we have to get in first," Harriet says, pausing. "But yeah, okay, we start with the gentle approach. If that doesn't work though, I can't promise I won't dump her fully clothed into the shower."

*

They manage to procure a key to Mackenzie's apartment with Harriet telling her doorman that they haven't heard from their sister in almost a week and that if he refuses to let them in they will have to call the police, and asking if he really wants to be the one to explain to the police why they're breaking her door down. Barely pausing for breath, she follows up with a reminder that Mackenzie works on a pretty high profile news show and if, God forbid, she's in need of help in there, then it won't go unnoticed by the media, so...

"Mackenzie." Harriet calls her name as she bangs hard on the door. "Honey, we have a key, we're just going let ourselves in anyway."

"Just open the door, Harry, for God's sake." Cat hisses from behind her, turning to glance at her younger sister who is leaning against the wall, biting her lip nervously. "It'll be okay, Frankie."

"Oh God, what if she's not alright in there?" Frankie says, her voice barely more than a whisper. "What if we should have shown up here days ago, what if-"

"Stop that." Cat turns to her and grabs her hands, squeezing tightly. "Sweetie, this is Mackenzie, she'll be fine. Sad, and maybe a little bit broken at the moment, but she's made of strong stuff. She'll be alright."

Frankie nods as Harriet opens the door and the three of them make their way inside. It's silent, there's nothing to suggest there is anyone home and for a moment they stop and stand completely still in Mackenzie's kitchen, where there is also nothing to suggest anything has been eaten lately.

"Trip?" Harriet calls out as she leads the way towards Mackenzie's bedroom, stopping and turning back when she feels Cat's hand on her arm. "What?"

"Look." Cat gestures towards the coffee table where there is an empty wine bottle, and a packet of pills.

"Oh my god," Frankie says as she steps forward and picks up the packet, exhaling loudly as she turns to her sisters. "There are only four missing from here, it's fine...shit, I-"

"Hey." Harriet grabs her and pulls her into a tight hug, looking over her shoulder at Cat, who gestures towards Mackenzie's bedroom and raises an eyebrow. "It's okay, Frankie. We're here now, come on, she'll be okay."

Frankie steps out of her sister's embrace and nods, taking a deep breath and following Cat down the hallway, Harriet close behind. Mackenzie's bedroom door is open but the curtains are closed and it's warm, stuffy, and Cat pauses in the doorway as her eyes try to adjust to the sudden darkness of the room. Harriet pushes her gently aside and walks in, heading straight to the windows and pulling the curtains wide before turning back to where her sisters have moved to the bed.

"Mackie." Frankie perches on the edge of the bed, reaching over to run a hand softly down Mackenzie's arm.

Mackenzie is awake, her gaze fixed on some faraway spot beyond where Frankie and Cat are sitting, but she offers no response. Harriet moves to the side of the bed and kneels down, her face level with Mackenzie's as she gives her a smile.

"We've been worried about you, Trip," she says, quietly. "And now I can see we had absolutely no reason to, you're clearly doing great here."

"Hi." Mackenzie speaks, her voice more raspy than usual, her eyes blinking to adjust to the light now flooding the room.

"Mackie." Frankie leans forward and kisses her sister on the cheek. "We really were worried. So worried."

"You're all here?" Mackenzie asks, confused as the realisation sets in that all three of her sisters, including the two that live thousands of miles away, are sitting in her bedroom with her. "You didn't have to come, I'm sorry, you shouldn't..."

"Stop it, Mackenzie," Cat says, firmly. "We haven't been able to get in touch with you for almost a week, so I don't know how on earth you think we _wouldn't_ come and make sure you're alright. I'm so sorry, about what happened with Will."

"I fucked everything up," Mackenzie whispers, drawing her knees up towards her chest as her eyes fill with tears. "He won't talk to me, he won't let me explain. I never meant to hurt him, I love him, I..."

"Oh honey." Frankie stands up and climbs into bed with Mackenzie, pulling her into a hug as she cries.

"Hey, scooch over." Harriet kicks off her shoes and slides into the bed behind them as Cat does the same on the other side.

"I'm sorry." Mackenzie's words are muffled and Frankie releases her grip slightly. "I'm an idiot, I'm so sorry, and you came all the way here, and..."

"We're your sisters, Trip, you have nothing to be fucking sorry for." Harriet drapes an arm across and Mackenzie squeezes her hand. "And hell, only your sisters would get into bed with you when you obviously haven't showered in a week. Its fucking ripe in here."

"I know." Mackenzie lets out a slight laugh at her sister's brutal honesty.

"Whatever, we're here now and there's no way we're leaving until you've gotten out of bed, showered, and eaten something," Harriet says, squeezing her hand again.

"Right now?" Mackenzie asks, lacing her fingers through Harriet's.

"Nah. Right now, you're going to cuddle with your sisters for a little while." Harriet smiles as Frankie runs her hand once again down Mackenzie's arm. "Then we're going to make you some dinner while you take a fucking shower. You're going to eat something, and then you can talk, or not talk, it's up to you, but we're not going anywhere. Okay?"

"Okay." Mackenzie nods, her eyes closing as she feels the warmth of her sisters surrounding her. "Thank you."

*

"Throw me her phone, would you?" Harriet gestures to where Cat is standing beside Mackenzie's bed.

"Mackenzie's phone?" Cat frowns as she picks it up. "Why?"

"Just pass it to me," Harriet says, holding her hand out. "I need to find something on there before she gets out of the shower."

"Harry, what are you..." Cat stops talking as she hands the phone to her sister.

"I just need a number, that's all," Harriet says, an innocent expression on her face as she pulls her own phone from her pocket and taps a number into it.

"Will's number, right?" Cat asks, pausing as the door opens and Frankie walks in, raising an eyebrow suspiciously at the two of them.

"What's going on?" Frankie asks, looking at Cat, then Harriet. "Mackie's in the shower?" 

"Yeah." Harriet nods. "Does she have any damn food in that kitchen?"

"That's what I came to say." Frankie shakes her head. “Not a thing, not even a festering block of cheese. There are menus on the fridge, so we could just order- wait though, what's going on in here?"

"Nothing," Harriet says quickly, glancing at Cat.

"Bullshit." Frankie snaps. "Do you know how dull it is being the youngest, always feeling like an idiot, like the one who isn't quite in the loop on things? Well, I'll tell you, it stinks, and I'm tired of it. I flew out here to help, just like you did, Cat, and I don't particularly appreciate walking into a room and having you both go quiet. Stupid little Frankie, don't tell her what's going on. Get back in the kitchen, Frankie, and find something to cook! Is that it?"

"Whoa!" Harriet holds up her hands. "Where the fuck did that come from?"

"I'm sorry." Frankie sits down on the bed, deflated, an embarrassed look on her face. "It's not like you have to tell me everything, it just sometimes feels like...oh, it doesn't matter."

"Harriet wanted Will's number." Cat sits down next to Frankie on the bed and smiles at her. "I assume she's going to call and tear a bloody strip off him."

"I'm going to rip him a new one." Harriet nods. "I'm fucking furious, I can't believe he won't even let her explain. They've been together for two years not two weeks, she was just about to move in with him. I mean, shit, we've all seen them together, he adores her, I just can't understand why he won't even hear her out. I could fucking kill him, I really could."

"It's not his fault, Harry." Mackenzie comes back into the bedroom, a towel wrapped around her, a comb in her hand. "It's my fault, completely my fault. I brought this on myself because I was a selfish, stupid, cheating idiot. I don't deserve him, maybe I don't deserve anyone decent, maybe I-"

"Mackie." Frankie crosses the room and takes the comb out of Mackenzie's hand, gently starting to untangle the knots in her wet hair. "Please don't say things like that about yourself. You do deserve someone decent, someone wonderful. You're kind, and loving and smart, and you made a mistake, that's all, you didn't do it to hurt him. I'm sure if he would just calm down and let you explain then he'd understand."

"He doesn't want to talk to me, Frankie," she says, quietly. "He's never going to talk to me again, I know that now."

For a few minutes, the room is silent as Frankie finishes combing Mackenzie's hair and Cat sits beside Harriet on the bed.

"Get dressed, honey." Harriet breaks the quiet and walks towards the door, squeezing Mackenzie's shoulder softly. "You have no fucking food in this place so we're going to order some takeout."

"I'm not..." Mackenzie stops, realising it's completely pointless to even try to say she isn't hungry when she's outnumbered by her sisters. "Alright."

Frankie follows Harriet out of the bedroom and Cat walks over to Mackenzie, taking hold of her hands and holding tight.

"You're going to be fine, Mac," she says, looking into her sister's eyes and smiling at her. "I promise. It doesn't feel like it now, I know that, but you'll be okay."

"I'm just so angry with myself." Mackenzie bites her lip, pausing. "Mum and Dad are going to be so disappointed too, I can't bear the thought of that."

"Don't worry about that now." Cat stops her, leading her by the hand to sit on the bed and pulling open the wardrobe door. "They love you, Mackenzie, they'll be worried about you, not disappointed."

"I told Mum a few weeks ago that this was it, that I knew Will was the one I wanted to marry and have a family with, and now that's never going to happen, and it's all my fault." She stops, looking at Cat who has turned back to look at her. "They'll be so ashamed of me, Cat."

"Please stop." Cat moves to sit beside her oh the bed and takes her hand again. "Would you do something for me?"

"Of course," Mackenzie says quietly, nodding.

"Just for tonight, would you put some clothes on, eat some dinner and try not to think about anything else?" Cat squeezes her sister's hand until she looks at her. "Mum and Dad know about Will. Not everything, obviously, but they know you had a falling out last week and that you're quite broken hearted, of course. Do you not think they wondered why Frankie and I were running for the airport like we did?"

"I don't know, I don't suppose I..." Mackenzie stops and takes a deep breath. "Okay, then I guess there's nothing I can do about that for now, right?"

"Right." Cat smiles before letting go of her hand and standing up again, reaching for a sweatshirt and leggings which she passes to Mackenzie. "Put these on, I'll go and see if they've ordered us some dinner, okay?"

Mackenzie nods and watches as her sister walks out of the bedroom, the realisation sinking in that her three sisters are here, that they're here because they love her and they're worried about her. As she slides the Cambridge sweatshirt over her head, she starts to cry again, but this time it's with relief.

*

"Is this Will?" Harriet asks as a voice comes on the line. 

"Yeah, who's this?" he asks, his tone abrupt, suspicious.

"It's Harriet McHale," she says, trying to keep her temper in check because she needs to say some things before she pisses him off enough to hang up on her.

"Look." She hears him sigh down the phone. "I don't think I have anything to say to-"

"Good." She cuts him off and ploughs ahead. "Because I didn't call to listen to your shit, I called because you need to know some stuff. About Mackenzie, about-"

"Listen Harriet." He raises his voice slightly. "I really have no interest in hearing about Mackenzie, I-"

"Dammit, Will!" Harriet can't keep her fury under control any longer. "You wouldn't hear her out, but you're going to give me two fucking minutes, and if you hang up, I'll call back, and I'll keep calling. And when you won't pick up your phone, I'll come over there and I'll refuse to leave until you listen to me. Do you really want a crazy woman yelling at you in the middle of your newsroom? Because that's what you'll get-"

"Alright." He stops her. "Two minutes. Say whatever it is you need to say and then leave me the fuck alone."

"Fine." Harriet takes a breath and carries on. "I've never, ever in my life seen Mackenzie like she was with you. She loved you, she still loves you, she's fucking devastated, Will. Yes, she made a mistake, she did a terrible thing, and she knows it, she's done nothing but beat herself up over it-"

"She was fucking her ex-boyfriend, Harry!" he says, his tone dripping with anger. "What did she expect me to say? 'Oh well, no problem, just try not to do it again.'"

"If you had listened to her, you'd have heard her tell you that it was a handful of times, and almost two years ago, when the two of you had only just started dating, for fuck's sake!" Harriet pauses but Will says nothing so she goes on. "The moment she realised she was in love with you, she never saw him again, she-"

"Okay," he says, stopping her. "I don't want to hear this. It doesn't fucking matter when, the exact dates don't mean a damn thing. She was cheating on me, and that's the only thing that matters. It's over, Harry, we're done. Please let her know I'll send her things on like I said I would."

"You'll regret this, Will," Harriet says, some of the fight gone from her voice as she hears the coldness of his tone. "My sister is kind and loving and loyal, and she really fucking loves you. One day you're going to realise what you threw away, you'll see her on the street and-"

"I'm going back to New York," Will says quickly. "Back to ACN, starting in two weeks, so I'm not going to run into her on the street anytime soon. Problem solved."

"You really are a heartless ass, aren't you? Actually, don't answer that." Harriet sighs. "You might want to know she's thinking about a field reporting job and there's been some talk about the Middle East. It goes without saying that if she ends up in the middle of a fucking war zone and anything happens, you should assume you had a lot to do with her being there to begin with."

"Maybe she should have thought about that before..." Will stops. "You know what? We're done here, Harry."

"Yeah, we are." She agrees and cuts him off, suddenly overwhelmed by the need to be the one who ends the call.

Muttering to herself, she decides there's nothing to be gained by telling Mackenzie she's spoken to him and everything to be gained by telling him that her sister may be headed overseas. Fuck him, he _should_ see her on screen, he should see what he's missing, what he threw away with his stubbornness, and when she conquers whichever war zone they send her to and comes back stronger than ever, she hopes he'll be watching that too.

*

It's five minutes since Charlie Skinner walked out of the bowling alley, leaving her sitting at the bar, and she hasn't moved, hasn't taken another drop of her drink because there's only one thing running through her mind, one person; Will McAvoy.

Mackenzie McHale can put on a show of bravado like nobody else, it's a skill she learned long ago, one that was necessary for survival in a childhood that involved being the new kid at school more often than not. The only way she knew how to make friends was to act like she didn't really care if they wanted to be her friend or not; bravado was all she had and she's been glad of it these past few months.

_"It was a long time ago."_

_"Five months!"_

He was right, she knows that. Five months is nothing, not when the thing you're running from almost killed you, and when for much of the five months you've been fervently wishing it had. Yeah, bravado has always served her well, but she doesn't know if it can carry her through seeing Will again, working with him, facing his inevitable hatred on a daily basis. What she does know is the lifeline Charlie is offering (she's in deep enough that she knows that's what this is, yet not so deep that she isn't able to grab for it) is the first thing since she came home that has ignited a spark in her and she feels like if she takes it, she might be able to find the Mackenzie she wants to be again.

She has her jacket and keys and is walking out onto the street before she can process it, blinking in the bright morning light as she wonders not for the first time if she chose bowling because it feels like being in a bunker; safe, hidden, and locked away from the outside world. Taking out her phone, she hits speed dial and waits for an answer, smiling as the call is picked up.

"Trip!" Harriet's voice is clear and it stills Mackenzie somehow as she walks towards her apartment. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Mackenzie's answer is automatic, as it always has been since she got back. (She's _fine_ , everything's _fine_.) "I mean, I think so...can you talk for a minute?"

"Sure," Harriet answers. "What's up? Wait, where the fuck are you?"

"I'm just walking home." Mackenzie cuts away from the main road where it's a little quieter. "Trying to clear my head, I guess."

"Has something happened?" Harriet asks. "You sound...I don't know, strange. What's going on?"

"How would you feel about having your boring old sister a little closer, as in New York?" Mackenzie asks, smiling slightly.

"What?!" Harriet almost yells and Mackenzie laughs. "For real?"

"Yeah. Well, maybe, I got a job offer this morning." Mackenzie turns into her street and pulls put her keys. "I already accepted one here, on a daytime thing, but fuck, it's not what I want, not at all."

"Then why did you take it?" Harriet asks, confused.

"I think maybe I've been sort of playing down how bad the last few months have been, if I'm honest, Harry." Letting herself into her apartment, she throws her keys onto the table and sits down. "You know I told you I was exploring other options because I thought it might be a good time for a change?"

"Yeah," Harriet says.

"Well, that wasn't exactly true." Mackenzie kicks off her shoes and tucks her feet up under her. "I mean, I do think it's probably time for a change, and I definitely don't want to be out in the field right now, but the decision was pretty much made for me."

"Wait, they fired you? You took a knife reporting for them and they fucking fired you?" Harriet's furious and Mackenzie closes her eyes, rubbing a hand across her forehead.

"They didn't use the words 'you're fired' as such," she says, pausing. "There were mentions of how I might not be cut out for this anymore, for a while at least, and references to the psych report...anyway, they basically said I was free to explore other options."

"And?" Harriet sounds impatient but Mackenzie knows it isn't with her.

"Well, it seems I don't have any." Sighing down the phone, Mackenzie thinks again about Charlie and what he's offering. "Who knew a knife wound, a PTSD diagnosis and a bout of showing up at work a couple of times a little bit drunk would have people thinking I was completely unemployable?"

"Jesus." Harriet takes a deep breath. "Why didn't you tell me? Every time I called you said you were fine, you sounded okay. Fuck, I should have known. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Harry." Mackenzie's voice is firm. "I'd already scared the shit out of everyone by almost bloody dying, I didn't want to freak you out even more."

"I just thought sure, you're going to be feeling a little bit down because fuck, you got stabbed and then sent home, but..." Harriet pauses. "I'm an asshole, I should have just come down there and made sure you were okay, I-"

"You're not an arsehole, not at all." Mackenzie stops her. "You know me, I talk a pretty good game when I want to, you couldn't have known, not really. Listen, what I called for was to tell you about the job offer, to see what you think."

"About you moving to New York?" I'd fucking love having you a bit closer, you know that," Harriet says and Mackenzie can hear the genuine enthusiasm in her voice. "Who's it with, the job? I'm guessing it's producing?"

"Yeah, I'd be an EP again." Mackenzie tells her. "It's what I want, it's why I said yes to the stupid daytime job because I thought it'd be a way in and because I need a damn job, obviously. Working overseas was what I needed at the time, but I need to come back now, I just want to be in a newsroom again, you know?"

"You're great in front of the camera, Trip, you know that. No one rocks freckles and toned arms like you." Harriet laughs. "But I know how much you love being an EP, and if that's what you're ready to do again then great. Who's the job with?"

"So..." Mackenzie takes a breath before she tells the story. "I was bowling this morning-" 

"I'm sorry, what?" Harriet stops her. "Bowling?"

"Yeah, I've been going to the bowling alley in the mornings," Mackenzie says. "I don't know why, really. It's quiet in there, it's a distraction, they serve beer at ten in the morning, you know."

"Holy shit, Mackenzie." Harriet sounds horrified but she doesn't say anything else.

"This morning I got a visit from Charlie Skinner from ACN," Mackenzie says. "He wants me on their flagship show, wants me to EP. He seems like he's done with the three ring circus that passes as news these days, Harry, he really does, and he's seen some of my CNN stuff and he thinks I want the same thing."

"Which you do," Harriet says.

"Exactly." Mackenzie agrees. "The thing is-"

"Wait, ACN?" Harriet asks, and Mackenzie knows she's just realised what she's being told. "Charlie wants you to EP News Night, with Will."

"Yeah." Mackenzie confirms, her stomach flipping over at the thought. "He liked what we did together at CNN, he thinks we can do it again at ACN, and he-"

"You told him about Will?" Harriet asks. "About the two of you, I mean?"

"I did," Mackenzie says. "He already knew we were together before, and he doesn't care about that, he just knows we were a really good team at work. I think he wants to turn things around at ACN, wants to make a better show, and I think I can do it, Harry, I really do."

"Hon, I have absolutely no doubt you could get in there and shake that ship up like the fucking Titanic," Harriet says, her voice laced with pride. "I'm just...well, do you think you can work with Will?"

Mackenzie says nothing for a few seconds because it's the question she hasn't dared to ask herself properly yet, and the reason she called Harriet almost instantly, so she didn't have to ask it. Closing her eyes and tucking her feet further underneath her, she sighs faintly.

"I think I have to try."


	3. Chapter 3

"You look great, honey," he says, ignoring her pout as she sighs at her reflection in the bedroom mirror. "Beautiful, as always."

"Shut up." She finishes pinning her hair up, sighing.

"Alright." Shrugging slightly, he walks over to stand behind her, sliding his hands slowly down her arms. "We don't need to stay late, we just need to put in an appearance. You're eight months pregnant, Mac, nobody will expect you to be the last one standing."

"Glad to hear it, because I'm not planning on standing at all," she says sulkily, although there's a hint of a smiling pulling at her lips. "I'm going to find a chair, sit in it and not move. You're going to bring me copious amounts of non-alcoholic cocktails, I'm going to smile for as long as my cheeks can take it, then we're going to come home and you're going to rub my feet until I fall asleep."

"You have this pretty thoroughly planned out, huh?" He smiles at her in the mirror and she returns it.

"I really do." She turns to him and grabs his hand. "I guess I hadn't really thought about being about to pop by the time we had to make our Christmas party appearance. Until I did think about it, obviously."

"I know you never thought you'd hear this from me..." He pauses. "But last year's party was actually...almost enjoyable."

"Steady on there, you could send me into labour with these kinds of announcements." She laughs. "Last year was fun because we'd not long got engaged and we spent half of the party in your office, if my memory serves."

"That's true." He nods, a wistful smile on his face. "It was good."

"It was." She leans up and kisses him softly, smiling back as she pulls away. "Come on then, let's do this."

Will of course finds her a seat, and brings her drinks as requested, while she chats to various people, leaving her chair only to use the bathroom and check that Will isn't causing any trouble when he drops out of sight. She's still tired and uncomfortable, and she's still wishing the next few weeks would just be over, but her spirits lift as she looks around the room at her staff, her friends, her family.

Maggie is here, fresh from DC where she is making the waves Mackenzie always knew she would, and Jim's pride is written all over his face as he watches her catching up with everyone. It may have taken him a while but he finally gathered his rosebuds, and she couldn't be happier for him, for them both. Sloan is being followed around by Don who, despite trying to play it cool, resembles an enthusiastic puppy, the grin on his face infectious.

She's heading back from one of her many bathroom visits and just realising she hasn't seen Will in a while when she sees Leona.

"You look great, Mac." Stopping her, Leona gives her an appraising look, smiling at Mackenzie's expression. "What?"

"I don't look great at all." Mackenzie sighs. "I look exactly what I am, eight months pregnant and the size of a house."

"Whatever." Leona shakes her head. "Baby on board or not, you're a hottie, Mrs McAvoy." 

"Well, thanks," Mackenzie says, smiling slightly. "I don't suppose you've seen Will, have you?"

"Not in a while, no," Leona answers, frowning at her. "Go sit down, get a drink. If I see him, I'll point him in your direction."

"Thanks." Mackenzie nods, spotting her husband across the room as she does. "Ah, he's here."

"Get out of here if you need to, Mac." Leona grins. "You've done your duty. Have that man of yours take you home and...well, do whatever you want him to."

Mackenzie feels herself blushing slightly as Leona smirks and walks away, which she knows is ridiculous, yet something about Leona alluding to her sex life with Will makes her feel like she's been caught doing something she shouldn't. 

Will crosses the room and smiles at her. "You okay, hon?"

"Yeah." She takes his hand and smiles back. "I'm not sure how much longer I can stick around though. I'm tired and I really want to just take my shoes off."

"We can leave whenever you want," he says, squeezing her fingers. "Before we leave though, we need to drop by my office real quick. There's something in there for you."

"What is it?" She narrows her eyes, following him despite his failure to answer her.

He flicks the light on as they walk into his office and she stops suddenly, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, a small gasp escaping before she manages it. In front of Will's desk stand all three of her sisters and for an instant she wonders how much she's had to drink, before remembering she hasn't had a drink in months.

"Oh my God." Mackenzie feels her eyes fill with tears and she curses her hormones as swallows hard around the lump in her throat.

Her sisters step away from the desk and towards her, all three of them throwing their arms around her, enveloping her in the warmest hug she can imagine, the hug only her sisters can offer. She holds on, and it's only when they finally let go of her that she regains some composure, looking at all of them in wonder.

"I had no idea." Mackenzie shakes her head slowly. "How did I have no clue at all? Harry, I just spoke to you like four hours ago? I don't..."

"Yeah." Harriet grins. "And I was in the fucking airport, Trip, praying you wouldn't hear any of the damn announcements in the background!"

"We flew in this morning." Cat smiles, her eyes flicking between Mackenzie's face and her belly. "Wow, you look-"

"Enormous, I know." Mackenzie sighs, rolling her eyes.

"Beautiful, Mackie," Frankie says quietly as she smiles. "You look beautiful."

"I sure won't argue with that," Will says, smiling at Mackenzie as she turns to him.

"This was you, wasn't it, Billy?" Her eyes fill with tears again as he nods.

"I knew you hadn't seen them all in a while, and I know you're tired and uncomfortable so I thought if I could make at least some of the next few weeks fun for you then, you know." He shrugs, glancing over at her sisters and smiling. "Call it an early Christmas gift."

"Thank you." She leans up and murmurs against his lips as she kisses him.

"I'm not quite done," he says, pulling back to look at her, taking her hands in his.

"I don't..." Frowning, Mackenzie turns to her sisters briefly and then back to Will. "What do you mean?"

"Tomorrow everyone else gets here," Will answers, grinning at her.

"Everyone else?" she asks, pausing before her eyes widen. "Wait, you don't mean..."

"Your mom and dad, Rufus and Sheila," Will says. "They get in around four tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh my god." Her eyes fill with tears again and she swipes at them in vain. "This is the best gift I could have imagined."

"It is pretty awesome, Will." Harriet grins at the two of them. "Now, there must be drinks here, right? I did just get off of a flight, you know."

"From _Boston_ , Harry!" Cat says, prodding her sister. "I think the two who flew in from London and only landed...two hours ago really should get first dibs on the drinks."

"I would very much like to second that," Frankie says, grinning at Mackenzie.

"Damn, such drama queens," Harriet says, letting out an exaggerated sigh. "Actually, all this talk of drinking seems pretty fucking unfair when our very pregnant sister can't touch a drop."

"I've had months to get used to that, don't worry about me," Mackenzie says, her smile widening. "I can't believe you're all here though, I really can't."

"Well, believe it." Harriet smiles back at her. "We need to hear everything about our niece or nephew-to-be, but first I need a damn drink."

Mackenzie introduces her sisters to everyone she possibly can, beaming proudly each time, and making a mental note to warn Cat to steer clear when she sees the predatory look in Pruit's eyes. Eventually they sit back down and Mackenzie grins at them, a tired grin but one full of pure joy that grows almost impossibly wider when Will joins them.

"How do you feel about heading home, honey?" He rests a hand on her back and smiles.

"I feel nothing but enthusiasm, if I'm honest," she says, blinking at him, her eyes bleary. "I did pretty well."

"Yeah, you did." He reaches for her hand and she stands up, her fingers laced comfortably through his.

"Oh." Mackenzie turns to her sisters. "Do you have luggage somewhere? Do we need to-"

"It's in the car already," Harriet says, standing next to her, their two younger sisters on either side. "Your husband here thought of everything."

"He usually does." Mackenzie tugs on Will's hand to lead him towards the door, smiling over her shoulders at her sisters. "Come on, let's go home."

*

"Of course I have," Harriet says, looking at Frankie with exasperation. "It's not like I haven't seen Will since they got back together. It's fine, stop fretting."

"I wasn't fretting." Frankie sighs. "I was merely-"

"Well, stressing then." Harriet waves a hand in the air. "Whatever. It was years ago, it's done, it's over. Jesus."

"There's no need to snap, Harry," Frankie says, sharply. "I was just wondering if the air had been cleared or if this might be terribly awkward."

"If what might be terribly awkward?" Mackenzie walks into the kitchen, hair in a ponytail a huge sweatshirt stretched over her belly, fluffy socks pulled up over her leggings.

"Oh nothing." Cat stands up quickly. "We didn't wake you, did we? My internal clock is so screwed up, I've been awake for hours."

"Frankie." Mackenzie turns to her youngest sister, frowning slightly as she averts her gaze. "What's going on?"

"Let me make some tea, Mackie." Standing up, Frankie squeezes Mackenzie's shoulder softly. "It's so good to see you."

"Tea would be great, thanks." Mackenzie smiles. "There's decaf in there."

Sitting down beside Cat, she smiles at her sisters sitting around the kitchen table, realising how much she misses them all being together like this. The last time was more than a year ago when Will had insisted on spending Christmas with her parents. She knows it was because he was desperate to make sure they knew he was serious about marrying her, about loving her. It wouldn't have changed anything had her parents been unsure but she will admit to breathing a sigh of relief at their obvious delight.

"You feeling okay, Trip?" Harriet asks, reaching for her coffee.

"I'll be better when one of you tells me what's going on." She replies. "I hear raised voices, I walk in, you all shut up, stand to attention, and Frankie can't look me in the eye."

"Nothing's going on, Mac," Cat says, smiling at her. "Harry was just...never mind, it's-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Harriet sighs. "Frankie was just wanting to know if things were okay with Will and me, that's all, it's no biggie."

"Why wouldn't they be?" Mackenzie frowns.

"I told her it's fine, it was a long time ago, and we've cleared the air since then," Harriet says. "Nothing to worry about."

"Okay, I'm totally lost here." Mackenzie rubs a hand across her forehead. "Cleared the air?" 

"After he threw you out," Harriet pauses. "After you broke up, when he wouldn't talk to you, I may have called him and chewed him out some, that's all. The first time I saw you guys after you got back together, we talked about it, I apologised to him and it's all good, Trip, I promise. I can see how much he loves you. Jesus, I always could, that's why I had to fucking call and yell at him."

"I didn't know, I..." Mackenzie stops and runs a hand across her belly where the baby has given a sudden kick. "What did you say to him?"

"It doesn't matter now, does it?" Frankie cuts in and puts a mug of tea down in front of Mackenzie, smiling nervously.

"No, it really doesn't." Mackenzie nods her thanks for the tea. "So you may as well just tell me."

"You're not going to drop this, are you?" Harriet asks, as smirk on her face at her sister's stubbornness.

"Nope." Mackenzie smiles sweetly and waits.

"Alright." Harriet shrugs. "I don't remember exactly but I think I called him a heartless asshole. I do remember I told him you were going to the Middle East and if anything happened it would be his fault."

"Jesus, Harry," Mackenzie says, closing her eyes briefly. "It wasn't his fault, it was mine, it was only ever mine. I fucked up, then I sent myself into the middle of a war zone, and I fucked up again. What were you thinking, calling him?"

"I was thinking that we'd just arrived to find you lying in bed, staring at the wall. You were devastated and I was fucking furious with him, that's what I was thinking," Harriet says. "I wanted him to realise what he was throwing away, I wanted him to see he was being unfair. He wouldn't even hear you out, Trip, he just threw you out like you didn't mean a damn thing, like-"

"That's not how it was." Mackenzie raises her voice, unconsciously rubbing small circles across her belly. "I hurt him, _betrayed_ him, he had every right to throw me out, I'm fucking lucky he ever forgave me at all, I-"

"I'm the lucky one, Mackenzie." They all look up at the sound of Will's voice.

"Will, I..." Mackenzie stops when he reaches her and rests his hands on her shoulders, massaging gently.

"You know, if I'd known you were all just going to fight." Will looks around the table. "I wouldn't have suggested you come over."

"It's okay," Mackenzie says, leaning back into his touch. "We were just-"

"No, it's not okay," Harriet says, stopping her. "I'm sorry. I should have told you this before now, way back, but the longer it went on and the more it seemed like he was never going to come around, I kind of didn't see the point in bringing it up. Then when you guys blew everyone's damn minds by getting engaged out of nowhere, I didn't even give it a thought, I was just so happy for you."

"I brought it up." Will cuts in, and Mackenzie turns, surprised. "When we went to your parents for Christmas, I brought it up and told Harry she was right, I _was_ a heartless ass for the way I treated you. We cleared the air way back, honey, and I made it quite clear I'm never going to hurt you again.”

"And I made it clear I will fucking kill you with my bare hands if you do," Harriet says, looking at Will.

"And I brought it up this morning, and now everyone is mad." Frankie speaks up, looking stricken. "I'm so sorry."

"Would anyone else like to get anything out in the open while we're here?" Mackenzie asks, drily. "Seems like it might be a good time."

"I'd like to ask that we forget that sometimes your sister has a total inability to keep her mouth shut," Harriet says, sheepishly.

"I'd like to clarify that she's talking about herself, rather than Frankie or me," Cat says, sticking her tongue out at Harriet.

"Will?" Mackenzie asks, reaching for her tea.

"Nope." He shakes his head, smirking slightly at her. "I'm good."

"Okay then." Mackenzie stands up, tea in hand, waving Will away when he moves to help her. "I'm going to get dressed and then I want to go for breakfast. I don't care where as long as there's bacon. Understood?"

"Understood." Will and her sisters answer almost in unison and she laughs.

"You may have noticed, even though I'm hiding it incredibly well, that I'm quite pregnant, so this could be hormones talking, but..." She pauses as she turns back to face the table. "I love you. All of you, and I'm really glad you're here."

"Am I included in that, even though I'm always here?" Will asks, smiling.

"Included?" Mackenzie walks over to him and grabs his hand, leaning up to brush her lips against his ear as she whispers. "You brought my sisters over for Christmas, with my parents and brother to follow, you managed to keep the whole thing a complete surprise, and you're going to take me out for bacon. I love you the most, Billy."

Watching as she heads for the bedroom, he smiles and turns to the three McHale girls sitting at the table. "Alright, you heard your sister. She wants bacon."

"Then bacon she shall have," Cat says, smiling.

"Yeah." Harriet stands and motions to her sisters to follow. "Let's go. God forbid we stand between a pregnant woman and her breakfast."

"Smart move," Will says, catching Harry's arm as she walks past him. "Harry? Are we-?" 

"Long time ago," she says, shaking her head. "All forgotten, we're cool, right?"

"Yeah." He runs a nervous hand through his hair as her nods. "Right."

"I really would kill you with my bare hands if you hurt her again though," Harry says. "You know, for the record."

"I'd expect nothing less," he replies, looking her square in the eyes. "But you don't need to worry about that, I give you my word."

"I know." Harry shrugs, a smile creeping across her face. "I just couldn't resist a reminder."

"Alright." He shakes his head, smiling back. "I guess I deserved that."

"Just keeping you on your toes, Will," she says, turning back to her sisters. "Come on girls, bacon!"

*

"Do you think he knew his grandparents, his uncle and his millions of aunts were here, and that's why he thought he'd show up a little early?" Will asks, running his finger gently over the baby's tiny hand.

"I think he wanted the distinction of being this hospital's first 2014 baby." Mackenzie smiles, exhausted but happy. "I like to think his competitive streak is showing itself early."

"Well, when I called Jim, he _did_ mention there were bets already being placed on little McAvoy here becoming President someday," Will says, unable to tear his eyes from his son's face.

"Of ACN?" Mackenzie asks.

"Of this _country_ , Mac." Will laughs.

"Ah, of course. Aim high, baby." Mackenzie looks down at the baby and smiles again. "President or bust."

"We should get that on a t-shirt for him," Will says, grinning as Mackenzie looks up and giggles softly.

"I like it," she says, trying to stifle a yawn.

"Why don't you try and get some sleep, honey?" He leans in and gives her a soft, lingering kiss. "You know once your mom and sisters get here, you won't have a chance."

"I know," she says, reaching for Will's hand. "Can you believe it? It seems like five minutes ago I was telling you I was pregnant, and now we have an actual baby. Shit, Billy, an actual baby, a little _person_."

"I know." Will smiles. " _Our_ little person. Well, I guess he's his own little person but he's in our care for now...we can do this, right?"

"You know we don't really have a choice, I don't think they take returns." She yawns again, follows it with a smile.

"Then I guess we'll keep him." He smiles back. "Let me take him for a while, you get some sleep."  
"You're sure?" She frowns.

"I have to figure out how he works at some point, may as well get started now," he says, his breath catching as she passes the baby to him, making sure he's settled before she moves back against the pillows. "Hey little guy, it's me, your daddy. Bear with me, I don't really know what the hell I'm doing here."

"Neither does he, Billy, he's brand new," Mackenzie says, struggling to keep her eyes open. "You'll be fine, you're his daddy...just wake me if you need me, okay?"

He doesn't wake her, he sits with their son and watches her, a soft, contented smile on her face as she sleeps. The baby starts to fuss slightly, blinking and pursing his little lips, so Will rocks him gently, shushing him, running a thumb over his tiny hand. When he quietens and his eyes slide shut again, Will smiles and realises he can do this, he's doing it already.


End file.
